Letter copying machine



(No Model.)

J. P. LASH.

LETTER COPYING" MACHINE.

Patented Dec. 21', 1886.

I manta". W/% Zw4 Witnmes I Maw JOHN F. LASH, or TORONTO, ONTARIO,CANADA.

LETTER-COPYING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 354,794, dated December21 1886.

Application filed J uly 24, 1885. Serial No. 172,531. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN FANNON LASH, of the city of Toronto, in thecounty of York, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, gentleman,

have invented an Improved Letter-Copying Machine, of which thefollowingis a specification.

The invention relates to a letter-copying machine; and it consists inthe peculiar combinations and the novel construction and arrangement ofparts, as hereinafter more fully de scribed and claimed.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved copying-machine partiallyin section to exhibit its interior construction. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section of Fig. 1.

A represents the main or driving roller, provided with a spindlejournaled in the frame B.

Ois a crank-handle connected to the spindle of the roller A.

D is a wringing-roller j ournaled in the frame B, as indicated, andhaving its axis substantially parallel with the axis of the roller A.The journal-boxes of this roller D are carried in slotted passage-waysmade in the frame B,

and are adjusted by means of rubber or other elastic packing, a, so thatits periphery may be readily adjusted to keep in contact with thesurface of the roller A. V

E is a roller journaled in suitable boxes, I), contained in slottedpassageways made in the frame B, adjusted vertically in the samemanneras the roller D is adjusted horizontally so 5 that the surface ofthe roller E may be held in contact with the surface of the metal rollerD. j

The roller E is covered with cloth or other porous material, so that itwill gather moisture from the water contained within the pan F, withinwhich the said roller revolves.

H is what I term the copying-roller, journaled in suitable boxes, d,held in the frame B in the same manner as the axle-boxes of the rollersD and E. V

I represents a web of copying-paper extending from the paper-roll Jwhich is carried on a spindle j ournaled in the frame B. It will benoticed that the web I, after leaving the paper-roll J, passes over asmall roller, K, and then below a similar roller, L. Both the rollers Kand L are journaled in an arm, M, Which is pivoted at e to the frame B,so that it is driven by the strap or cord 9, as indithe rollers K and Lmay have a slight swing ing movement in addition to revolving on theiraxes during the passage of the paper I. The roller K, it will be seen,supports the paper I and prevents it dropping into the water-panF,.while the roller L is located so asto hold the paper I down and causeit to hug the surface of the roller E, which it does from the point thatit leaves the roller L till it passes the contact-point of the roller D,from which point it extends around the roller D, between it and theroller A, and thence between the said roller and the copying -ro1ler H.The 6 rollers A, D, E, and H are either geared together or arranged incontact, as indicated in the drawings, so that the revolving of theroller Aimparts acorresponding motion to the other rollers. Consequentlywhen the crank-handle O is turned in the direction indicated by arrowsthe other rollers mentioned will also move, so that their joint actionshall cause the web of paper I to pass through them in the directionindicated by arrow, the effect of which will be that the said paper isfirst thoroughly soaked by being held in contact with the surface of theroller E, partially wrung by passing between the rollers D and E, andthen finally wrung entirely free from any surplus moisture by passingbetween the wringingroller D and main roller A, so that the said papershall be in proper condition to receive impressions from the manuscript,which is passed between the copy-i ng-roller H and main roller A, withthe surface of the manuscript in contact with the paper I. In order topre vent the paperI from winding round the roller A, I provide a roller,N, suitably journaled in the frame B, and having bristles or rubberprojections f, so as to present a flexible surface for acting againstthe paper I when the roller N revolves, which it is caused to do at ahigher speed than the roller'A, from which cated.

O is a table on which the sheets of manuscript to be copied may beplaced, which sheets, as they pass between the rollers H and A, arecopied on the paper I, and are conveyed by the said paper over theroller N, falling with it into a basket placed for the purpose; or theymay be gathered by the operator as they pass through.

In practice I have found that the best result is obtained by making oneroller in each pair of rollers brought in contact with each other ofmetal or a hard unyielding material, while its mate is made of yieldingor slightly pliable material. With that view I usually make the roller A'of nickel-plated metal or some other hard and unyielding material,while I make the'rollers D and H of soft rubber or some other yieldingmaterial, but of course the same general effect would be produced werethe rollersD and Hmade of hard unyielding material and the roller A madeof soft rubber or other yielding material. If the surfaces of twosoft-rubber rollers are pressed together sufliciently tight to wring orcopy a piece of paper carried between them,it will be found that thesaid paper will be constantly torn by the twisting action of the rubberrpllers, whereas by making one roller of a hard unyielding material itsmate may be of a soft yielding material without any twisting actionbeing produced; consequently paper carried between a hard and softroller, as specified, will not be torn.

A feature of great importance in the construction of my machine is thefact that the paper I is made to hug the roller E, so that it will bethoroughly saturated over its entire surface, while by locating theroller D at the point indicated the paper I, though thoroughly soaked,as mentioned, is perfectly wrung, so that it will be nearly damp enoughto receive the impression from the manuscript carried between therollers H and A, as before described.

P is a water-cup connected with the interior of thepan F, so that thesaid pan may be filled with water through thesaid cup P, which may bealso utilized as a water-gage for indicating the height of water withinthe pan.

In order to prevent the handle 0 from being turned in the wrongdirection, I place a ratchet-pawl, Q, which permits the roller A to beturned freely in the direction indicated by arrow, butprevents it beingreversed.

I do not claim in this application the combination of a main roller, acopying-roller, a damping-roller, awringing-roller arranged to wring thepaper, and a' drum bearing a continuous coil of paper passing throughthe said rollers; nor, in a letter-copying machine, the

combination of a main roller, a'copying-roller, a wringing-rollerarranged to press upon the paper, and a wetting apparatus, asthesecombinations areshown and claimed in my Patent No. 333,312, datedDecember 29, 1885.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a letter-copying machine in whichthe manuscript is copied on paper carried between two revolving rollers,the damping-roller, E, and a hard unyielding roller arranged incombination with a roller made of soft and yielding material for thepurpose of wringing the copying-paper before it is brought in contactwith the manuscript, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a letter-copying machine, the combination of the damping-roller E,the hard un yelding roller A, and the soft and yielding rollers D H,revolving in contact with said rollers E A, respectively, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified. I

3. The rollers A, D, and E, the latter being dampened and arranged toact on the paper I, as specified, and the roller D, revolving in contactwith both the rollers A E, in combination with the roller L, arranged tomake the paper I hug the roller E, substantially asand for the purposespecified.

4. The roller E, revolving in the pan F, in combination with the rollersL and K, journaled in the pivoted arm M, and arranged to act on thepaper I, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a copying-machine in which the manuscript is copied on acontinuous web of paper carried between rollers, the combination, withthe rollers A D E H, arranged in relation to each other, as specified,of a revolving roller, N, arranged substantially as and for the purposespecified.

6. V The dampening-roller E and main roller A, in combination with thewringing-roller D, arranged to hug the surfaces of the rollers E and A,for the purpbse of forming a double wringer for the copying-paper I,asand for the purpose specified.

Toronto, July 17, 1885.

- J. F. LASH.

In presence of- A. MACKENZIE, CHARLES C. BALDWIN.

